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I certainly haven't seen anything in hamptons play that leads me to believe he is a shadow of the player he once was. That is most certainly a subjective opinion that can't possibly be proven. Is he the casey hampton of 5 yeads ago?, no he is not, but he well above the line and a valued leader. He took a paycut to stay another year. I don't believe he was in any danger of being cut.

Casey is just a shadow of the player he was at one time. McLendon in now the best NT we have. IMO if Ta' amu had shown he was ready for prime time then cutting Casey would be a serious topic of discussion. Fortunately for Casey it looks like T-mu needs a year of seasoning.

You know that McLendon is the best NT we have after watching him play one half of preseason football?
You are good bro

You know that McLendon is the best NT we have after watching him play one half of preseason football?
You are good bro

I think McLendon will be good but I'm not going to start bashing "big snack". If he's healthy he's going to be solid as he always is and with McClendon stepping up Hampton won't have to be beast mode all the time just some of the time.

August 18, 2012
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Steve McLendon earned the starting nose tackle job in Casey Hampton's absence, but could keep it even after Hampton was taken off the physically-unable-to-perform list Friday.

Steve McLendon earned the starting nose tackle job in Casey Hampton's absence, but could keep it even after Hampton was taken off the physically-unable-to-perform list Friday.

By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers first signed Steve McLendon after the 2009 draft as a rookie free agent. His big hands are famous, and he needed them or otherwise he could have gotten cramps from signing so many contracts with them.

Over the course of his three previous NFL seasons, McLendon was released five times. That breaks outside linebacker James Harrison's record, although McLendon neither was cut by the Baltimore Ravens nor forced to play in NFL Europe. To quote a former Steelers lineman from the '80s, he was cut so many times he needed stitches.

McLendon won't have to worry about that again any time soon. Today, he is the Steelers' starting nose tackle, and it would not be a stretch to suggest he could hold that job even when Casey Hampton is ready to play after the Steelers activated him Friday from the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list.

McLendon would appear to be out of place on a defensive line that includes three former first-round draft picks, but, like Harrison before him, the road has not been paved with gold. That began to change a season ago when he started one game and played in 14, and people began to notice that this undrafted nose tackle with big hands also could play big.

As the Steelers completed their final public practice Friday and prepare to leave Saint Vincent College for good Sunday morning, no one has had a better training camp than McLendon.

"He's powerful, he can move in there, he can pass rush -- and the nose tackle is usually not a pass-rusher, but he can [do that]," said center Maurkice Pouncey, who often goes head to head with him in practice. "He's been playing really good, and everybody's excited about it."

There was talk the Steelers might draft a nose tackle in the first round in April as Hampton's heir apparent, and, after they waited until the fourth round to take Alameda Ta'amu, he was labeled by many as the successor to the 12-year vet with the five Pro Bowls. McLendon likely is the reason they waited so long, and Ta'amu now looks more like Chris Hoke's heir apparent as the future backup.

"I was happy for him," McLendon said, explaining his reaction when the Steelers drafted Ta'amu.

"And we needed it. We need some depth. Let's face it, I can't be the only nose tackle playing; they didn't know how far along Casey was."

Hampton's ACL was torn in the playoff game in Denver. At the worst, the Steelers will be able to rotate him and McLendon at nose tackle to keep them fresh and line them up next to each other again in the middle of their goal-line defense.

Hampton is big and strong. He stands 6 feet 1 and is listed at 325 pounds, but he likely weighs 20 pounds more. McLendon is 6-4 and preposterously listed by the Steelers as weighing 280. He said he weighed that as a junior at Troy. He weighs 325 today.

He knows how far he has come and how he has gotten here, and thinks about it often.

"Every day, but that's what I came from. I overcame that and I'm sure I'll overcome other things."

His big chance came in '10, when he was released three times in the first two months before finally making the squad for good Devil's Night Oct. 30. He played in four games and had two tackles. He had his best game last season with five tackles in his only start at Arizona.

Linebacker Larry Foote loves what he sees in front of him.

"He's strong, he's athletic, he can push the pocket and he can go on the side of the pocket and get pressure," Foote said. "I think last year he really made his mark, the games he played showed the team he's going to be here for awhile."

New practice rules work well

The new rules that permit only one practice a day and mandate one day off a week in training camp fit the veterans like a warm blanket.

The end of camp -- the Steelers have one closed practice remaining today -- caught 11-year vet Foote in a jovial mood.

"Yeah, it beat us up," he said of a camp in which players reported July 25. "Man, it's a hard, physical, tough camp. It might have been the hardest camp I've ever been through in my career -- lot of banging, lot of soreness. We need to get a better deal."

Foote believes the easier training camps will extend the playing lives of many and produce a better product Sundays.

"I wish they would have had it 10 years ago, I'd probably be looking forward to playing 25 years. It's awesome what they did, taking care of our bodies. Guys are fresher. And beyond that, I think you'll get better football. Just leaving camp, you feel fresh and you're ready to go. Instead of limping into the season, you're ready to go full tilt."

Quick hits

• Byron Leftwich will not play Sunday night against Indianapolis as Charlie Batch will get his turn to follow Ben Roethlisberger in the quarterback rotation. Jerrod Johnson again will mop up.

• Tomlin said all players not on PUP "are still in play" to get into the game at Heinz Field, including offensive tackle Max Starks, who went through his first practice Friday after coming off PUP Tuesday. Marcus Gilbert, however, will start at left tackle and Ramon Foster at right tackle. Running back Isaac Redman did not practice Friday and will not play. Rookie Michael Adams went through his second practice in pads. Roethlisberger was held out much of practice, but he is not injured.

• The NFL fined Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie $21,000 for his high, late and launching hit on Leftwich Aug. 9 in Philadelphia.

But one of them wasn't somebody many were expecting to be activated at this time.

Rashard Mendenhall and Casey Hampton came off the PUP on Friday, opening the door for both to return to practice on Tuesday when the Steelers return to their facility on Pittsburgh's South Side.

Hampton's activation wasn't a surprise. Though he had offseason surgery to repair his ACL, the team expected him to be ready for the opening of the regular season, at least on a limited basis.

But Mendenhall was a different story. Though he was, by all accounts, ahead of the curve in his recovery from a torn ACL,

The team had continued to say that it expected him to open the season on the PUP, meaning he would be out the first six weeks.

Now, he will have to open the season on the 53-man roster.

The Steelers obviously feel Mendenhall is ready, or they wouldn't have activated him. But he's also not ready to shoulder a full load.

The issue, in my eyes, is that once the season begins, there really is no easing a player back into practice. Either you're ready to go or you're not. In-season practices are used to get ready for the next opponent, not get somebody ready to return to the field.

So the Steelers activated Mendenhall now to give him a couple of weeks of training camp.

Also at issue are the injuries to the other running backs on the roster. Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer have both been banged up.

Probably more so in the case of Dwyer, the Steelers are sending a message that they're not happy with the status quo.

What does this mean for the roster? Hampton was considered a given to take a spot on the 53-man roster. Mendenhall was not.

The guess here is that the team either goes with four receivers - including Mike Wallace, who should report any day now - and use Chris Rainey and Heath Miller in certain situations, or go with two tight ends and use Will Johnson or Jamie McCoy as an H-back type.

You know that McLendon is the best NT we have after watching him play one half of preseason football?
You are good bro

I know it's the preseason, but McClendon was collapsing the pocket like a young Hampton used to. I think Hampton peaked in the SuperBowl XL run. But he's not the All Pro NT he once was.

You might even be able to make the case that Casey's lack of push up front makes QBs comfortable in the pocket. No longer afraid to step up. And they make less mistakes as a result and we end up with no turnovers or splash plays.

For a 3-4 to function at it's peak, you need to have a great NT. And as good as Casey's been, I think it's fair to question is he great any longer? We need our NT to be great. It's the most important position on our D. Actually without the right 3-4 NT, I'd go as far to ask does a 3-4 make sense without this guy?

McClendon's been one of the best surprises last year. This year, he looks like he turned into the Incredible Hulk. He looks like he made a Barry Bonds like transformation this past offseason. And it looked like it showed in his short time on the field last week.

Nose tackle Casey Hampton has his sights set on one thing – returning in time to play against the Denver Broncos in the season opener on Sept. 9 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

“My thing is to be ready for the first game,” said Hampton. “That is what I am aiming for. I just need to keep progressing. My goal is to be out there for the first game. That is what I am working toward. I can see myself being out there.”

Hampton was placed on the physically unable to perform list prior to the start of training camp as he comes back from an ACL injury suffered in the playoff loss at Denver last year. He was taken off the PUP list last week, but his problems aren’t over.

Hampton’s left elbow has also bothered him and he said he recently, “got the elbow fixed,” and it’s healing.

“It’s been an issue,” said Hampton. “When you get to my age everything kind of hurts a little bit. It was something that was nagging me, and didn’t go away so I had to take care of it.

“I just got the elbow fixed so I have to let it heal up and let it get right. It’s just been bothering me for a while. I have to let it heal up for a little bit. It’s cool. I’ll be out there pretty soon, hopefully. I’m not worried about my knee at all.”

Hampton, who never has been a fan of training camp practices, understands that he will need to get time on the field before he can play.

“Hopefully I will get out there soon enough,” said Hampton. “I complain a lot about camp, but you do need to put the pads on and get acclimated. Maybe not for a month, but you do need it to get ready to play. I always knew that. You don’t have to like to practice. I still don’t but you need work to get ready to play.”

Nose tackle Steve McLendon has stepped in for Hampton so far this preseason, and while Hampton wants to start against the Broncos he knows if he has to work his way back gradually that McLendon can be counted on.

“I am sure I am not going to be in the best shape when I get back after not playing football,” said Hampton. “He has earned his right to be out there. It’s definitely good having a guy playing with you that is capable of getting the job done. I am comfortable with him out there.”

Hampton has been enjoying watching McLendon’s progress and knows that there is a lot more to come.

“He can be a very good player,” said Hampton. “He’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be. When he figures it out and realizes how good he is, the sky is the limit for him. I definitely think he can be a great player in this league.

“I think what everybody is seeing isn’t even close to the kind of player he can be.”